Christopher Schlegel

Understanding Music Notation Lesson 9 – Rhythm Rests

The same ideas apply to rests as to notes. They are named just like the rhythm values. They also have the same specific amounts of time just like the notes except they are designated for not playing.

Whole rest – a whole measure of 4 beats – 4 counts
Half rest – a half of a measure of 4 beats – 2 counts
Quarter rest – a quarter of a measure of 4 beats – 1 count
Eighth rest – an eighth of a measure of 4 beats – 1/2 of a count
Sixteenth rest – a sixteenth of a measure of 4 beats – 1/4 of a count
Thirty-second rest – a thirty-second of a measure of 4 beats – 1/8 of a count

The symbols for rests are as follows:

Note and rests are typically combined in many different ways. The important thing is that all the notes and/or rests in any given measure “add up” to a complete measure. When counting rhythms for playing the best practice is to start by counting using the smallest note or rest rhythmic value present in the piece or measure so you get a clearly understanding of the relative lengths of all the events present in the music.